The day Najib lost his nerve: Why was Anwar acquitted?

When the late deputy prime minister Ghafar Baba announced that the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was to be constructed in Sepang, many developers who had bet on the airport being sited somewhere in Bukit Beruntung were forced to run for cover, salvaging whatever they could from their investments in that area.

The next step taken by the UMNO-led government was to freeze any transaction involving land and property in the whole Sepang district including any development. So apart from some private activities and the harvesting of the palm oil in the estates, 'everything' to do with land was put on hold. Even when people wanted to make enquiries on the status of land there, they faced a lot of restrictions and many gave up trying to find opportunities related to the KLIA project.

But unknown to the public, all deals linked to UMNO were carried out secretly during this unofficial moratorium or black-out period. Eventually, after four years, construction on the KLIA started. Many of the lands in Sepang changed hands during this period and when the auctions began, it was the UMNO cronies who got the highest prices for the lands they had acquired secretly.

Huge implications for UMNO

Now the same sinister thing is happening in the UMNO. Doors are being closed so that internal maeuvering can take plave. Yes, UMNO is a party where infighting has been raging unabated under a cover of a false calmness that it tries hard to portray. In the past weeks, most people have been preoccupied with the Sodomy II case - initially worried and then euphoric when a "not guilty" verdict was delivered.

Little did they realize that such a momentous outcome carried huge implications for the top UMNO leadership or that the party's president, Prime Minister Najib Razak, had been pushed into a corner.

Najib is now not only desperate but he is also in deep trouble. As it is UMNO can still win the next general elections, but only with a razor thin majority. That's the only consolation for the UMNO-led BN coalition which has ruled Malaysia since 1957, not that Najib gives two hoots about it.

What's topmost on the 58-year-old PM's mind right now is that former premier and party strongman Mahathir Mohamad is going to push him out of the UMNO president's chair, and consequently the premiership of the country. In trying to be his own man in the Anwar case, Najib has offended way too many people and all of them have decided not to support him.

Alone at the top

Najib is now alone at the top. He is probably regretting his decision to 'spare' Anwar and not have forced the courts to convict him and throw away the prison key!

When he made that momentous decision to let the courts have an independent say in Anwar's verdict, Najib reckoned he had nothing to worry about. In his short-sighted and unprincipled way, he thought he could ask the Attorney General to appeal against the decision anytime, get a "guilty" verdict and send Anwar off to jail.

Najib or his army of sub-standard advisers figured that even if they decided against appealing, they could reward the complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan handsomely to keep him quiet and charge Anwar with other crimes, such as the Datuk T sex tape where a man allegedly looking like Anwar was filmed having sex with a prostitute. So to Najib - incredible as it may seem - Anwar is not a worry. He can send out the cavalry anytime to bring his arch rival to heel.

With the acquittal, what Najib and his advisers wanted to do was to issue a threat to those in UMNO who were piling pressure on him for positions and seats to contest in GE-13 by letting Anwar loose. He knows full well such a move would damage the UMNO-BN's chances of winning GE-13 and if Anwar became the next PM, Mahathir's goose would be cooked, so to speak.

So Najib is telling everyone - especially in UMNO - if I don’t make it, then no one in UMNO should make it. Najib is now waiting for some clear signs from Mahathir but as of now Mahathir has been very disappointed with the 901 verdict and has not responded. Is Mahathir is feeling the heat now?

Step 2 - Cabinet reshuffle

The next thing Najib would do if there is no positive response for his enemies with UMNO is to reshuffle the Cabinet. This time he will drop those who have been plaguing him - yes, the ministers and deputy ministers from UMNO who are against him, perhaps even including Mahathir's son Mukhiz, the deputy International Trade minister.

Najib's greatest and deadliest enemies are now from his own UMNO party and not the opposition.

Now that is the story that is being spread by the cyber-troopers hired by Najib's advisers. How far is Najib really willing to go and is this merely a concoction to save face for having painted himself into a corner?

It is actually extremely simple to find out the truth. For the same reasons that Mahathir fears Anwar's return to power, Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor face the same predicament - justice for all the corruption allegations against them. Najib's bill on this account is not small at all. Although it may not be as huge Mahathir's or say Daim Zainuddin's, it should rank among the top 5 largest 'UMNO-made' fortunes. For Najib and Rosmah, there is the additional awkward murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu to worry about!

More plausible Najib and Rosmah decided to cut their losses

So unlikely to be true. What probably happened was that Najib lost his nerve at the 11th hour to push through a violent course of action to intimidate his countrymen into accepting the political status quo. This plan would have included street riots and the jailing of opposition leaders under the ISA for trying to stir up a revolt. He and Rosmah probably realized that while the Mahathir and the hardliners in UMNO may toast him for jailing Anwar on such manifestly trumped-up charges, they would become the villains in Malaysian history and in the eyes of the world. So, why be left holding the baby!

Najib now has a new problem - how to appease Mahathir? This is his main concern. As for Anwar, he probably reckons, he can use Saiful to appeal the verdict and maintain the pressure on the opposition leader. This again reflects his lack of intellect, insincerity and inability to put the nation's interest first, above all else.

After such a dramatic response around the globe, with Anwar's acquittal celebrated in all the major countries of the world, for Najib to again U-turn would not only earn him the greatest odium but would permanently remove Malaysia from the radar of fund managers and investors of any size and repute throughout the globe

But this is the character kink, the flaw in Najib Razak, the eldest son of second prime minister Razak Hussein, who was hated by the non-Malays especially the Chinese and blamed for the May 13, 1969, street riots and deaths.

Charade

Najib and Mahthir will go about with their charade of power musical chairs in UMNO, lost in their private world without realizing the rest of humanity can smell their scheming and filth.

How far would Najib go? How far would he sacrifice Malaysia's future? Going by past record, Najib won't even think twice about his countrymen. He is also aware that his term as UMNO president is up. Even Mahathir had to go in 2003 - forced out by a split in the party. Can Najib, who is 100 times less capable, hold onto the pirate ship that UMNO has transformed into during his watch?

No, chances are Najib will hold onto his list of 'winnable candidates' and try to negotiate as much as he can. There is probably a deal in the making with Mahathir. This way, Najib will ensure a minimum block of supporters backing him, even if he loses the favor of all other UMNO factions.

The Anwar acquittal will also mean a greater flight of UMNO members into the Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP. According to the UMNO grapevine, Najib is even willing to exclude the BN from Sarawak if they go against him. So, a hung Parliament and a unity government is not really that impossible after all.

As Anwar and Pakatan, they must not lose another moment in celebration. Victory is at hand but they must work doubly hard to ensure they do not fail the people and the 'gift verdict' they were blessed with by the Almighty on Monday, the historic 901.

Malaysia Chronicle